Life Less Frightening
by Fluffy Tranquil
Summary: After dropping out of Yale after one semester, Maya just wants her life to be stress-free. But when she moves in with Imogen, Zoë, Zig, Mo, and Jake, her life turns out to be anything but bliss. I don't own Degrassi. Please RxR. Rated T, but the rating may change.


**So, I don't exactly remember when I came up with this idea. I didn't plan on posting it tonight, but I did work on a little bit of it this week. I think it was when I was at school. I actually didn't go get the paper I wrote it on, so this is different. But, again, I only wrote a little bit of it. This is named after Life Less Frightening by Rise Against. I didn't listen to it while writing this, but I thought it might fit with the story. I literally looked through my library a few times to find a title. Well, enjoy! Please review. (:  
**

* * *

Maya Matlin placed her small, blue suitcase down on the bed. It would be enough to last her until the weekend, when she would go back to her parents' house and collect the rest of her belongings. Needless to say, her parents were pissed that she dropped out of Yale. _Yale_ of all places! Any of the applicants who were denied would proudly take her place in a heartbeat. If she were in their place, she'd be one of them. But then she'd face reality.

She was always a straight A student, even in high school. With that title attached to her name, she went into college thinking that she would end her four years with a perfect grade point average. Then she actually experienced the work load.

College was definitely not what she'd expected it to be. She knew it would be harder and she was well aware that she would have to study on a regular basis. She could no longer rely on the fact that she she simply "had a good memory." She couldn't just memorize a list of definitions and historical events. She would have to think critically about things. That wasn't to say that she couldn't do just that, but she just didn't think that high school prepared her to make the arguments that her professors expected of her.

So, a few months after the end of the semester, she found herself looking for a new place to live. The particular place she found was a house, one that belonged to a girl named Zoë. Maya was informed that she would have to share a room, so she wondered exactly how many people lived in the three bedroom home.

A knock on the door sounded, bringing Maya out of her thoughts. "Hi," she said.

"Hey," a girl said. "I'm Imogen. You're Maya, right?"

"Yeah."

"Zoë said you were moving in today. Do you need any help?"

"Oh, no, I've got it. I don't really have a lot of stuff right now since I have to go back home to get the rest. But thanks."

"No problem."

Maya smiled, not really having anything else to say. A painting in the corner of the room caught her eye, so she used it to create some fodder to continue the conversation. "Hey, did you paint that?"

"Yeah, do you like it?" Imogen walked over to the piece of art and held it up for Maya.

"It looks really nice."

"Thanks. I painted this about a month or two ago. It's Jake's favorite. I'm surprised he hasn't stolen it yet. He really wants to hang it up on his wall."

"Who's Jake?"

"Lives in the basement."

"How many people live here exactly?"

"Well, you make six. Zoë has her own room, but she does pay more rent, so that's understandable. Then there's Zig and Mo. They live down the hall, next to the bathroom."

"Oh, that kind of seems like a lot for a three bedroom house. I mean, for a family it doesn't. But when you talk about six people living together, it kind of does. I take it that everyone gets along then? I don't know how people could live in such close proximity otherwise."

"Uh, yeah. We're all friends. There's some, uh-" She stopped her statement. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Sure," Maya agreed. Denying any help would make the situation awkward. Imogen clearly almost told her something that maybe she shouldn't know.

* * *

After everything was situated in her room, Maya went downstairs. On the way down the steps, she ran into a guy, though she wasn't sure if he was Zig, Mo, or Jake.

"Hey," he said. "So, you're the newbie."

"Maya, actually."

"Zig," he said, his breathing uneven. He lifted his shirt over his head. "Sorry, do you mind? It's really hot. I just went for a run."

"No, go ahead. I mean, you already did, so it doesn't matter anyhow." She chuckled, hoping that she didn't make the situation any more awkward.

"So, what are you up to?"

"I was just gonna go to the store and get a few things."

"I was going to go grab a shower. If you've got, like, fifteen minutes, I can go with you."

"Um, sure."

"Okay."

"I'll be down here waiting."

"I'll be getting rid of all this sweat." He smirked, walking up the stairs.

Maya blushed, walking into the living room and finding herself in the presence of yet another unknown.

"Hey," the guy waved. "You Maya?"

"Yeah. Jake? Or Mo? I've-I've met everyone else already."

"Jake."

"Hi."

"Hi," he echoed. "So, how's it going so far?"

"Um, okay, I guess. Moving into a new place can only go one of a few ways. But usually boredom is part of that."

"If you're bored, then you should totally go out with us tonight!"

"Out?"

"Yeah. I know this guy who who can get us some legit looking I.D.s. How old are you?"

"Seventeen," she answered.

"Oh, man, you are in for a wild night. You in?"

"Um...I'll let you know." She put on a fake smile. If she knew that this was what she would have to deal with, she would have never signed on the dotted line.


End file.
